Baby-walker.



G. A. KOHL.

BABY WALKER.

APPLICATION FILED MAIL-7, 1 912.

Patented D0. 24, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

UNITED STATES rngrnn'r oFF oE.

CHARLES A. KOHL, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN KOHL, OF

' CLEVELAND, OHIO.

BABY-WALKER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 7, 1912. Serial No. 682,191.

- To all .whom it may concern:

' be comfortably supported and safe-guarded against falling or becominginjured during its first attempts to walk, and may be prevented from'corning into contact with walls, articles of furniture, &c.

The objects of the invention are the provision of a device of this character which will support the infant in a comfortable and secure manner and without'physical injury,

the provision'of a device whichmay be ad-' justedto accommodate the growth of the child, the provision of a device which willkeep the infant from injuring itself by contact' with the variousarticles of furniture in the room, and which will likewise prevent injury to such articles of furniture; the provision of a device which shall be proof against upsetting or over-turning; the' provision of a device which may be folded into a small compass for purpose of transportation or storage; and provision for an attachment for such device which shall be serviceable for acceding to the demands of nature. p

Generally speaking, my invention may be defined as consisting of the various parts and elements recited in the claims annexed hereto and illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming parthereof, wherein:

Figure 1 is a persp ctive view of the complete baby walker; Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical cross sectional view thereof; Fig. 3 is a horizontal detail view of oneof the corners thereof taken immediately above the frame land looking downwardly; Fig. 4 is a detail 5 view illustrating the method of securing one ..,'-,of the uprights to the body supporting poraway; Figs. 8, 9, 10 and 11, are diagrammatic views illustrating the successivemovements necessary to the folding of the device.

Describing the parts by reference characters, arec-tangular frame is provided having side-bars 1 1, and end bars 2, 2, the corners of the same being stiflened by means of blocks 3, 3, 3, 3, secured to the upper sides thereof. Pivoted'to the inner sides of the end pieces 2, 2, adjacent to each of the corners is an upright 4, said uprights being beveled at their lower ends so as to be inclined inwardly, and pivoted. between the upper ends of similar uprights are horizontal bars 5, 5, the pivotal axes of which are parallel to the similar axes at the lower ends of the uprights. The body support ofthe device consists of a flat member 6 having an aperture 7 for the reception of the infants body, said member being, rigidly secured to one of the bars as 5 by suitable means such as a bolt 8 and being detachably secured to the other bar 5 by means such asa bolt 9 having a removable thumb nut 10. The size and position of the blocks 3, 3, 3, 3, is such that the uprights 4, 4, 4, 4. rest against their in-' nor edges-when the device is assembled in condition for use, the inner edges of these blocks being notched if necessary as at 11 for the better bracing of these uprights. This construction gives stiffness and rigidity to the device.

The inner faces of the bars 5, 5 are provided with spaced recesses 15, 15, for the reception of the hook ends 16 of vertical supporting rods 17, 17 the lower endsof which are connected by a cross bar 18. Slidably mounted upon these supporting rods is a cross head 19, the ends whereof are suitably apertured for the reception of the supports, these apertures being counter-sunk as at 20, 20, for'the reception of spiral springs 21, 21, sleeved on the supporting rods. The vertical adjustment of the cross head is effected by means of a screw 22.

The seat is formed of a flat board 25 preferably formed with a forwardly projecting born 26 adaptedto projectbetween the infants legs and having secured to its lower side across piece 327 of substantially the same length as the cross head 19, the ends of the cross piece being slotted as at 28, 28, for the'reception of the supporting rods 17, 17. To prevent the splitting of this cross piece I Patented Dec. 24, 1912. I

provide cleats 29, 29, the lower sides of which are counter-sunk as at 30 for the reception of the upper ends of the springs 21, 21. The screw permits the raising of the seat as the infant grows, the provision of a plurality of recesses 15 permits the seat to be adjusted at such point with reference to the aperture 7 as will support the infant securely and with entire comfort, while springs 21, 21, permit it to jump and j ounce. The forward end of the member 6 may conveniently be formed as a tray 32 for toys or the like, while an elastic hoop 33 is preferably secured about the frame in orderto yieldingly resist contact with articles of furnirure.

The whole device is movably supported upon wheels or casters 34 secured at the corners of the frame, these corners being further stiffened by angle blocks 35if desired.

The toilet seatpreferably consists of an oval board 10 apertured at ll and having transverse cleats 42 at its ends, the cleats and seat board being slotted as at 28* for the reception of the supporting rod 17 as in the previous case. The inner edges of the cleats 42 are recessed as at 43 for the reception of the rim of a basin at whose forward position is determined by a stop 45 and whose accidental rearward removal is prevented by means of a removable pin 46. This seat may be substituted for the usual seat in an obvious manner.

Inasmuch asthe blocks 3 prevent the movable bar 5 from being drawn outwardly far enough to pass by the edge of the member 6, it is necessary that the folding of the device be accomplished in a fixed manner as illustrated in Figs. 8 to 11. In this operation the thumb nut 10 is removed so as to disconnect the bar 5 from the member 6, the latter being then swung upwardly as at a. The bar 5 with its uprights a is then folded downwardly into the frame as at b, after which the member 6 is folded against its uprights 4: as at c. The bar 5 and its associated up rights are then swung upwardly as at (Z to permit the downward swinging of member 6 as at 6, thus bringing the member 6 below the frame. Lastly, the bar 5 and its supports are swung downwardly toward the frame as at f. The seat being easily removable from its supporting rods, these parts can easily be packed into the spaces between the uprights so that the whole will take a minimum of space.

lVhile I have necessarily described my invent-ion in detail I do not propose to be lim ited to such details except as the same may be positively included in the claims hereto annexed or may be rendered necessary by the prior state of the art.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

In a device of the character described,

former axes, an apertured thirty-supporting member secured to the upper faces of said bars, supporting rods attached to said bars and depending therefrom, and a seat secured to said supporting rods.

2. In a device of the character described, in combination, aframe, a pair of uprights pivoted at each side of said frame, the pivotal axes of all of said uprights being substantially parallel, an apertured body-supporting member pivoted to the upper ends of one pair of uprights upon an axis substantially parallel with said first axes, means for detachably securing the other pair of uprights to said member, a seatsupported beneath the aperture in said member and a block carried by said frame adjacent to each of said uprights and adapted to be engaged by the same when in raised position.

3. In a device of the character described, in combination, a frame having uprights, a horizontal apertured member secured to the upper ends of said uprights, horizontal bars secured to the lower face of said member at opposite sices of the aperture therein, each of said horizontal bars having in its inner edge a plurality of spaced recesses, supporting rods having their upper ends outwardly turnedfor insertion into said recesses, a seat carried by said supporting rods, and means for adjusting said seat vertically along said rods.

4. In a device of the character described, in combination, a frame having uprights, a horizontal apcrtured member secured to the upper ends of said uprights, depending suporting rods having their upper ends removably attached to said apertured member, a crossbar connecting the lower ends of said supporting rods, a cross-head parallel with the said cross-bar, a seat having notches at its sides receiving said supporting rods, springs sleeved upon said rods and interposed between said cross-head and seat, and means for adjusting the distance between said cross-bar and cross-head.

5. In a device of the character described, a. rectangular frame, an upright pivoted at each end of parallel frame members adjacent to the corners of the frame, the axes of said pivots being substantially parallel, horizontal bars pivoted between the upper ends of each pair of uprigl'its, the pivotal axes of said bars being substantially parallel to the former axes, an. apertured body-supporting member rigidly secured to one of said bars and detachably secured to the other bar, and a seat depending from said horizontal bars and positioned beneati said aperture.

6. In a device of the'character described, whenrthe latter are in raised position, where- 10 in cQmbination, a frame'having casters; up by the device is rendered rigid. rights pivoted to said frame about substan- In testimony whereof, I hereunto afiix my tially horizontalb axes, an apertured body signature in the presence of two witnesses. supportin mem .er attached to the upper ends of said ugrights', a seat detachably sup- 7 CHARLES 'N ported beneat such aperture,and bracing Witnesses: means secured'to said frame for fixing the t HAROLD E. SMITH, angles between said frame and said uprights BRENNAN B. WEST. 

